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Description

Presented by the National Center for State Courts and HackerNest, CourtHack enables the rapid creation of product prototypes to make the US Justice System more accessible for all. Find a team!

ABOUT

CourtHack 2.0, the premiere US Justice System hackathon, will be held at the beautiful New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The brightest legal minds, technologists, entrepreneurs, and others will gather for an epic, 30-hour hackathon to benefit the administration of justice. Expert mentors, including judges, administrators, and CIOs from across the country will lend their expertise to help ensure participants are building useful, relevant projects.

The core of every legal system is defined by access to complete, accurate, and timely information. Technologies developed in the past decades have completely revolutionized the way we interact with this information. Although times have changed, many aspects of our court systems have not. Historically mired before the ever-widening digital gap, our institutions have much catching-up to do.

The CourtHack hackathon is an initiative by the National Center for State Courts and HackerNest that directly addresses this problem. Hackathons have become the de facto mechanism of choice for innovative product/service businesses to emerge – the most practical, meritocratic, and efficient way of vetting new ideas into implementation.

CourtHack will serve as a symbol to help shape public perception (as one of the first-ever court-related hackathons) of how the justice and legal community intend to work with the technology community.

An important highlight is that court experts including judges, court administrators, and CIOs from around the country will be lending their expertise as members of our very distinguished panel of judges. It is exactly these kinds of strong, high-profile partnerships that distinguish CourtHack in terms of pedigree, credibility, and reach.

Approximately 100 participants will form teams and compete for sizeable cash and non-cash prizes, invaluable mentorship opportunities, key meetings with industry decision-makers, and a demo spot at a major court technology conference. Pride, respect, and recognition, of course, all come standard with victory.

To further our important mission, we want to enable as many people as we can to participate. If you cannot pay for a ticket, don't worry, email us and we'll figure out a way to get you involved!

CHALLENGE SETS

Five Challenge Sets have been identified after much consultation with court stakeholders and partners:

1. Fairness in Fees, Fines, and Bail Practices

Rosa’s Story: Rosa was pulled over and didn't have her current registration in the car. She was given a ticket and was shocked to see the fine: $285.00! She can’t take time off work to go to court, but she cannot afford to pay that much. If she doesn’t pay, the court will increase her fine and suspend her driver’s license, which means she won’t be able to get to work.

Court Technology Opportunity: People need a convenient way to make their case, and courts need an efficient way to determine a person’s ability to pay so judges can take that into account.

Resources:

Fines, fees, and bail practice (FFBP) issues impact people across the United States every day. The National Center for State Courts tracks local and national FFBP news every week. Read the articles collected for 04/12/2017.

Electronic Bench Card: a bench card intended to assist judges in real time with the lawful collection of legal financial obligations; model legislation that, where enacted, would ensure that a state’s top judicial officers are apprised, on a regular basis, of every court with the authority to levy fines, assess fees, or impose incarceration; and an interactive website highlighting studies, reports and reforms across the states.

Ability to pay calculator that allows judges to make a quick determination based on minimal information.

Subject matter experts

2. Fairness: Leveling the Playing Field

Tony’s Story: Tony’s landlord took Tony to court because he withheld rent. Tony went to the courthouse, but it was chaotic and confusing and by the time he discovered he was in the wrong place, it was too late—in his absence, the court had ruled in the landlord’s favor. Tony needs to know what his rights are, how to fight back, and how to tell his story to the court.

Court Technology Opportunity: Courts need to make information available that is easy to understand, with paperless processes that are easy to follow, and allow people to appear through mobile devices or online venues. By doing so, courts level the playing field for first-time users.

Resources: Subject matter experts, data set of case-level data.

Possible Deliverables:

online dispute resolution solutions, or, for in-person cases,

mobile-friendly check-in solutions,

tools for navigating the courthouse and the legal process.

3. Understanding Customer Experience

Angela and Marshall’s Story: Angela and Marshall have been working with their local court to take care of the estate of her mother, who just passed. They have taken advantage of self-help center workshops, online resource guides and chat, the court’s YouTube videos, and in-person discussions with court staff. Overall, they are having a positive experience and making good progress, although they have been stuck once or twice. What’s the problem? The court has no idea where they got stuck, which of the self-help resources solved their problem, and what combination of resources is driving their success.

Court Technology Opportunity: Courts need to gather and use information on their customers to improve service to all who interact with the courts: jurors, witnesses, lawyers, litigants, and friends and family of those involved in a court case.

Resources:

Minnesota courts have provided their avenues for court-user interaction and user self-help:

4. Translating Legalese into Folksonomy

Lou’s Story: Lou’s small business was sued by a supplier. He is online trying to read about the process of how lawsuits proceed through the courts. The flow chart he finds is full of words and phrases like “demurrer,” “stipulation,” “discovery,” “order to show cause,” “trial de novo,” and more. He cannot figure out what the words mean, much less what process they describe.

Court Technology Opportunity: Courts need tools to translate their legal terms of art into terms that occur naturally in the language of those using the court’s services.

Resources: Subject matter experts, court glossaries, flow charts.

Possible Deliverables:

Apps to read and decode legal terminology and provide context,

Graphic visualizations of court processes.

5. Social Support for Families in Crisis

Andrew’s Story: Andrew and his wife are going through a painful divorce and working out custody issues while she seeks treatment for drug abuse. He feels isolated, while she is confused by the complicated schedule of court appearances, counseling appointments, and treatment. Each of them needs more support through this process, not only from the court, but from others going through similar rough times.

Court Technology Opportunity: Courts need to improve their use of social media, online chat, real-time video conferencing, or SMS texts to enhance the effectiveness of their programs. Apps that connect similarly situated people and locate nearby court resources could provide quick access in time of need.

App that connects “peers,” matching parents and kids with volunteers who made it through “the system”,

Shared calendar solutions to connect the many people (social workers, treatment providers, foster parents, probation and school resource officers, and others) and the many court-ordered events (hearings, classes, counseling sessions, supervised visitations, home visits, lab work to monitor substance abuse, and others), while protecting participants’ privacy and security,

Tools to find nearby services and supports—like crisis centers, shelters, and safe houses, and open counseling meetings for alcohol and substance abuse, anger management, and similar programs.

6. Wildcard! Closing Gaps in the Court System

CourtHack wants your creative, out-of-the-box thinking! If you have an idea that doesn’t fit within the previous challenge sets, run with it. You can help reinvent how people interact with the courts to make it more efficient and pleasant for all involved. Why is this woman smiling? Because an innovation from CourtHack 2.0 improved her experience at the court!

Court Technology Opportunity: Only about half of the public believe that courts provide good customer service. And many believe that courts do not make effective use of technology to improve operations and customer experience. When people have legal problems or seek justice, they want to be able to access everything anytime anywhere.